1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information providing system, and more particularly an information providing system which particularly allows a server in an environment based upon the session initiation protocol (SIP), a typical protocol implementing VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), to cooperate with systems separate from each other and providing application software (AP) in an Web (World Wide Web) environment. The present invention also relates to a communication system therefor.
The present invention also relates to a method of providing information to mobile terminals on a real time basis with different server environments cooperating with each other.
The present invention further relates to a service system and a method of providing a service for such an information providing system. More in particular, the invention relates to a system for providing a service to clients connected thereto by causing an application in a SIP environment based on the SIP protocol to cooperate with an application in a web environment. The invention relates to a method of providing a service by causing applications operable in different environments to cooperate with each other, to thereby, for example, implement an alert type application as informing the web browser of the state of progress in a service and the end of the executed service.
2. Description of the Background Art
Applications in providing information are performed on the one hand in the case of being based on the SIP environment and on the other hand in the case of being based on the Web, i.e. World Wide Web environment, and information service takes place in the respective environments. The former, SIP environment or system, is used for building a telephone-based service, while the latter, Web environment or system, is used for building an information providing type of application (AP) service, which is provided by the information systems of enterprises or internet service providers (ISP). The two sorts of services thus exist because they are used in different environments from each other, as described above.
When server environments established by means of different communication protocols are linked and connected with each other, a method is generally employed of intermediating a gateway for converting the protocols. For such a gateway, an HTTP-SIP converting gateway may be used which has both mutually connecting and converting functions of the SIP and HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) protocols in order to comply with both of the SIP and Web environments.
There has been used another method in which a client makes access to both Web and SIP servers which respectively provide applications based upon the Web and SIP environments to thereby obtain appropriate information.
However, in the methods described above, the SIP and Web application services are independent from each other. Therefore, for example, when a SIP client, or user, uses both services, he or she could not enjoy on a real time basis an information providing service using the Web application service.
More specifically, when a person travels who has a mobile terminal compatible with the SIP protocol, such as a car navigator, a mobile information terminal (Personal Digital Assistant: PDA), it was impossible for a Web application service to try to present appropriate information on a real time basis for him or her on the basis of his or her ideas, current location, time, date and seasons to thereby make him or her mobile terminal, i.e. a SIP client, enjoy the SIP application service which transfers information consecutively in a touch and transfer mode.
Further, the conventional HTTP-SIP gateway having a HTTP-SIP converting function merely implements a simple function in accordance with the protocol conversion rules incorporated in the gateway be forehand. For the HTTP-SIP gateway, it is impossible, for example, to vary the presence on the database in the SIP environment on the basis of the content requested in accordance with the HTTP protocol and further of the progress in processing to thus inform the user in the SIP environment of the elapse of the processing. When the HTTP-SIP gateway informs the user in the HTTP environment of the elapse of the processing, it would hold the transaction of the HTTP for a longtime. It is thus not considered to be a properly implementable method in view of establishing a user interface as application for effective usage of resources and in practical use.